- The Moon is Earth’s only permanent Natural Satellite and Earth’s Constant Companion – The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite and goes around the Earth at a distance of about 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers).
The Moon always shows Earth the same face – Both Earth and Moon are tidally locked up and their rotations are so in sync we only see one side of the Moon all the time.
The Moon has quakes too – They’re not called earthquakes but moonquakes. They are caused by the gravitational influence of the Earth. The earthquakes on Earth that last only a few minutes at most, moonquakes can last up to half an hour, however they are much weaker than earthquakes though.
The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth – According to Giant Impact Theory, the Moon was created when a rock the size of Mars slammed into Earth, shortly after the solar system began forming about 4.5 billion years ago.
The Moon is drifting away from the Earth – The Moon is moving approximately 3.8 cm away from our planet every year. It is estimated that it will continue to do so for around 50 billion years. By the time that happens, the Moon will be taking around 47 days to orbit the Earth instead of the current 27.3 days.
Gravity is much weaker and person would weigh much less on the Moon – The Moon is 27 percent the size of Earth and has much weaker gravity than Earth, due to its smaller mass, so you would weigh about one sixth (16.5%) of your weight on Earth. If you drop a rock on the moon, it falls more slowly and astronauts can leap and bound so high in the air.
The rise and fall of the tides on Earth is caused by the Moon – The Moon is partly responsible for causing the tides of our oceans and seas on Earth. There are two bulges in the Earth due to the gravitational pull that the Moon exerts; one on the side facing the Moon, and the other on the opposite side that faces away from the Moon, The bulges move around the oceans as the Earth rotates, causing high and low tides around the globe.
The Moon has only been walked on by 12 people; all American men – The first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969 was Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission, while the last man to walk on the Moon in 1972 was Gene Cernan on the Apollo 17 mission. Since then the Moon has only be visited by unmanned vehicles.
The Moon has no atmosphere – This means that the surface of the Moon is unprotected from cosmic rays, meteorites and solar winds, and has huge temperature variations. The lack of atmosphere means no sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky always appears black. The Moon has a very thin and tenuous atmosphere called an exosphere – It is not breathable, so carry your jumpsuits.
The Moon is the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System – At 3,475 km in diameter, the Moon is much smaller than the major moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
The dark side of the moon is a myth – In reality both sides of the Moon see the same amount of sunlight however only one face of the Moon is ever seen from Earth. This is because the Moon rotates around on its own axis in exactly the same time it takes to orbit the Earth, meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The side facing away from Earth has only been seen by the human eye from spacecraft.
The Sun and the Moon are not the same size – From Earth, both the Sun and the Moon look about same size. Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, but also 400 times closer to Earth, while Sun being bigger than moon , but since it is farther, it looks similar in size to moon.
The Moon has a very thin and tenuous atmosphere called an exosphere – It is not breathable, so carry your jumpsuits.
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